Solo Saga: Pippa's Education
by VibeQuake
Summary: My name is Pippa and I am the youngest daughter and child of OWCA's top agent. Considering I'm the youngest of five siblings, I have a lot to live up to. I am not noble like Teddy, happy like Hazel, sensitive like Quinn, or brave like Hermes. I can only be what I am. But what do you do when your whole family thinks you're annoying because of ADHD that you can't control? Two-shot.
1. Chapter 1

**Pippa's POV**

It's hard being the youngest of five siblings. When all four of your older siblings have done great things, you have to get used to people giving you expecting looks, hoping you'll be great too.

But I don't see how I can. I am not noble like Teddy, kind like Hazel, compassionate like Quinn, or brave like Hermes. I'm just a sporty platypus with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder who trains as hard as she can but will never live up to her siblings.

I mean, Teddy's actually managed to become OWCA's fifth top agent, knocking Pinky the Chihuahua out of the space. Hazel's mission is legendary, mostly because it was a mission that should have lasted several months but she cracked it in a few days _and_ helped OWCA win a gunfight on a cruise ship in the middle of an ocean. Quinn is the best field medic anyone could ever ask for, with a case success rate that is literally just as high as OWCA's doctor, Apollo's. Hermes has _superpowers_ , enough said.

What can one platypus do when she has not one but FOUR bars set for her?

…

The jogging track is my favourite sports facility in OWCA. The gym's always quite crowded, but the outdoor track is very new and not as popular because it's cold outside. But platypuses have insulating coats for when they swim in cold water, so I'm fine. That's what I'm doing right now, actually.

I've run six laps already, had a break, and now I'm in the middle of my tenth lap. It is quite cold but it doesn't bother me. It isn't raining or snowing, and those are the only things that matter.

However, when I just finish my tenth lap, I realise that it _has_ begun snowing. Sighing, I head over to the stands, where I left my stuff, and put on the black beanie hat that my parents gave me for my birthday last year. It immediately warms my whole head. As the snow falls faster, I run inside OWCA and take a moment to warm up next to the heater by the door.

"Hey Pippa," says my father's friend, Patty, who is sitting on a chair nearby, reading a magazine. "Cold?"

"Yeah," I grin, taking off my hat and placing it on the radiator. "It's snowing."

"Oh that's nice." Patty peers outside. "The first snow of the winter."

"Hey, have you seen my parents?" I ask.

"They're in Priya's office."

"Thanks."

I head up to the office floor. On my way, I see many familiar faces. Most of them don't like me. My ADHD makes me fidgety and sometimes loud. Both qualities are basically condemned here. Mostly because I can babble about nothing in particular and everyone finds me annoying, including my own siblings. But it's fine, really. I find them annoying too. It's not like I wanted older siblings who would look out for me and help me and love me. It's not like I get hurt by their dismissal of my ideas just because I'm younger than them and only four years old and an ADHD-affected Basic Trainee. I'm fine.

I find my parents where Patty said they would be. "It's snowing!" I announce, bursting into the office.

Mom is sitting on Dad's desk, and Dad himself is sitting in his chair. Both their faces momentarily drop when they see me, which I don't miss. But then they smile. "Is it?" Mom asks indulgently. "Is that why you came in early?"

"Yeah," I say grumpily, tapping my feet restlessly as if listening to a catchy song. "I do twelve laps every day but I only got to ten because it started snowing and I don't want to run in the snow. I was considering it but the other day Berry the Rabbit said she ran in the snow once and by the time she had done one lap, her nose, whiskers, and ears were freezing and had icicles hanging off them. I don't really like being cold like that. I don't mind being chilly, like running outside in winter, but I don't like running in the snow unless I'm purposefully outside to have fun, like making a snowman or playing or throwing snowballs." I stop talking earlier than I was planning to at the pained look Mom and Dad exchange. I take a deep breath and say, more slowly, "Speaking of which, is it okay if I skip training this afternoon and play in the snow?"

Mom and Dad exchange another look before Dad nods. "I don't see why not," he says. "Just make sure you wrap up warm and come in if it gets too cold."

"I know, Dad," I say. "I'm not a little kid anymore."

I give them a smile and skip towards the exit. As I leave, I hear Mom whisper, "Should we send Pinky to keep an eye on her?"

I stop just outside the door and hear Dad's hushed reply: "Yes, let's. In case she decides to run off like usual."

I feel a sting in my chest but I raise my head and run to get bundled up. After I reunite myself with my hat, scarf, and gloves, I run outside into the snow. Nobody else is out there so I spend a glorious hour building four snowmen in a line.

Then I spend a further hour building a massive pile of snowballs. Seeing as I'm arguably too old to play in the snow for the fun of it, I decide to do some target practise. I fetch a tennis ball machine from the sporting area and set it up, pointing into the air. I load my tight snowballs into the machine and put it on random fire. I head back to my large pile of snowballs, pick one up, and wait. As soon as the machine spits the first one high into the sky, I aim and throw my own snowball, which hits the fired one, causing both of them to explode in a pile of snow.

I carry this on for at least fifteen minutes before I realise that Pinky the Chihuahua is sitting on a chair a little way away from me, watching me. This angers me. Mom and Dad treat me like a little kid! I'm four years old! I'm not a little child anymore, I'm a BT. I can't possibly hope to become an OWCA agent if my ADHD means that my parents are always going to view me as a little child.

So, in a fit of anger, I lob one of my snowballs at Pinky. I hadn't meant for it to hit him, but in this case one of my greatest strengths (amazing accuracy) becomes a weakness. The snowball hits him in the head and knocks him off the chair. I immediately feel bad but I have no time to apologise before he stumbles to his feet and runs inside.

I run.


	2. Chapter 2

**Pippa's POV**

"That was very dangerous!" scolds Mom. "You could have seriously hurt Pinky!"

I could defend myself but I decide not to. It'll only make things worse.

"And then you ran away," sighs Dad. "You know how we feel about the running away from problems."

"I can't help it." I anxiously twist my hands. I hate standing still for long periods of time, and I can tell this lecture is going to last for a while. "I get nervous when I think I'm going to get into trouble."

"Well running away makes the trouble twice as bad," Dad snaps, making me flinch. "But back to the issue: why did you throw that snowball at Pinky?"

"Because I was mad that you keep treating me like a little kid," I mutter. "I'm four years old. Did you treat Hermes like this when he was my age?"

To my utter surprise, Mom's eyes fill with tears and she turns away. I frown. "What did I say?"

"You've upset your mother," Dad snaps, putting his arm around Mom.

"What did I say?" I ask. "Mom?"

"I think you should leave." Dad's tone is disappointed. I hate disappointing people, especially my parents. "Carry on training or something."

"But it's dark," I whine. "It gets dark early in winter."

"Then train indoors."

"But I don't like training indoors at this time because the gym is full of agents and they're all bigger than me and it's a bit scary for me, even when I'm with someone. If I go on my own, I might-."

"For goodness sake, Pippa!" Dad suddenly shouts. "Just go! And don't you dare think about running away again."

I scowl, tears threatening my eyes. "Stop treating me like a baby and maybe I'll stop running away."

Dad gives me a glare. Even Mom looks up through her tears and scowls at me. I growl and storm out of the office. The only reason I snap at my parents is because sometimes the pain gets too much and I cry. I don't want to cry in front of my parents because that will just cement their belief that I need to be babied. ADHD just means I can't stand staying still for too long, I fidget a lot, and I often have a lot of energy. That's not my fault. I really need to tell my family this someday.

Then I spot my oldest sister, Hazel, standing by the water cooler alone. Needing a little sympathy, I trudge over to her and tap her shoulder. She looks down at me. "Hazel, I accidentally made Mom cry because I asked-."

"You made Mom cry?" Hazel scowls at me. "How could you, Pip?"

She's using my nickname. That's a good sign. I quickly press, "I-I only asked her something about Hermes and she started to cry and Dad got angry with me and kicked me out his office but it isn't my fault, I didn't know I wasn't supposed to ask what I asked, I didn't know it was going to make Mom cry, and now-."

"Pip, stop," Hazel snaps. "I don't have time for this. Thanks to you, I'm going to have to see if Mom's okay."

"I didn't mean to," I whine. "Please, Hazel. I-I need help."

Hazel glares at me. "You certainly do."

With that, she stalks past me. I take several deep breaths in to quell the tears. Sadly, I have a lot of experience in this department, and I succeed.

Then I spot Hermes. My brother is coming towards me. I walk a few steps to meet him. "Hermes-."

"Please not now, Pippa."

For some reason, it's only my sisters who have picked up the nickname Pip for me. My brothers kinda refuse to call me it. Maybe they don't even know I like being called Pip.

"Hermes, I need someone to talk to," I plead. "Please."

"Pippa, I have somewhere to be."

"What if I was about to hurt myself?" I demand. "What would you do then?"

Hermes pauses awkwardly, eyes looking everywhere but into my own. "I'm sorry. I have to go."

"Hermes!" I wail. "Everyone's being mean to me!"

But Hermes is already gone.

Standing up straight, I decide to take matters into my own hands. I go back to Mom's office to retrieve my cold weather gear. Peering in, I see Hazel in a hug with Mom. Dad appears to have left. I reach in, grab my stuff from the sideboard, and leave.

As I put on my hat, scarf, and gloves, I see Teddy and Quinn on the other side of the office floor. They're just standing there, talking. I wrestle with the decision to go over there and attempt to start a conversation with them, but that decision is made for me when they spot me, exchange a blatant look of resignation, and move away.

I try not to let that hurt me. I go outside into the snow and find my snowmen still there. I sit next to one of them, ignoring the cold snow on my tail and butt.

"Hi Mr Snowman," I say aloud.

The snowman's coal mouth smiles back at me.

"I'm going to call you Dave. How does that sound?"

Dave doesn't reply.

"How sad is this?" I snort. "I don't have any friends of my own so I'm talking to a snowman."

To my eyes, Dave's expression now looks hurt. I chuckle. "No offense, Dave. It's just that…I don't understand why my siblings don't like me. Hermes is too awkward around me. Hazel openly finds me annoying. Teddy and Quinn straight-up ignored me earlier. I can't keep doing this. I-I mean…" My voice gets bitter. "It's not like I wanted older siblings who would look out for me and help me and love me. It's not like I get hurt by their dismissal of my ideas just because I'm younger than them and only four years old and an ADHD-affected Basic Trainee. I can't help it if I babble. I can't help my fidgeting or hyperactivity. I can't help being ADHD. I wish I could concentrate on things but I can't. I wish I could be normal. Why can't I be normal?"

Tears freezing in my eyes, I glance at Dave. His expression is just as vacant as ever, but I can see myself reflected in the shiny cold surface of the coal. It makes me realise something.

I stand up, shaking from cold and my realisation.

It's because of all the pressure on me. I'm the youngest of five siblings. It's natural there should be some pressure on me. Considering my older brother has _superpowers_ , it's a bigger amount of strain than usual. And yet I'm still standing. I still push. I still train to be the best that I can be. And you know what?

I am going to be the best.

I race over to the pile of snowballs, which is still there, and pick one up. Target practise. I'm going to train until I'm an OWCA agent Mom and Dad and Teddy and Hazel and Quinn and Hermes will be proud of.

I am going to be the best.


End file.
